Hopewell Valley ice hockey
By: Mike Molaro
When Rob Siris was named head coach of the Hopewell Valley Central High School boys ice hockey squad two years ago, he raised the bar and laid out some lofty expectations.
Over the past two seasons, the Bulldogs have qualified for the state tournament and emerged as one of the state’s better units while upgrading their schedule against perennial powers.
His philosophy is simple: You have to measure yourself against the best teams to see where you are.
HoVal brings that same competitive fire to the ice this season, as it tries to take the next step and emerge among the state’s elite.
"The first thing I told the guys when I took over was that we weren’t going to settle for anything," said Siris, who begins his third season behind the Bulldog bench. "I knew we had to set high goals and not be satisfied with a .500 record.
"We have to challenge ourselves to see what we have. The only way to improve is to face the great teams and see what they do that keep them there year after year."
After advancing to the state "Sweet Sixteen" last season and bringing home a 17-10 record, HoVal again has loaded its schedule with out-of-league opponents Bridgewater-Raritan, Mendham, Montclair and Montgomery.
With a veteran roster bolstered by solid goaltending, the Bulldogs are ready to make things happen, beginning with their season opener Dec. 1 against Colonial Valley Conference rival West Windsor-Plainsboro North at Ice Land at 8 p.m.
"We had 31 guys try out," Siris said. "That’s five more than last year and 10 more than the year before. The practice squad is getting bigger. We are definitely building the program."
Although they lost leading scorer defender Gregg Amato (46 points), forward Pete Carroll and goalies Bryan Driver and Jake Lurie to graduation, HoVal returns an experienced and confident group as they move up to the CVC’s Colonial Division with Notre Dame, Princeton and Steinert.
Led by co-captains, senior defender Alex Laughlin (37 points) and junior forward Eric Doran, HoVal won’t be relying on one or two players to make things happen. The scoring should be spread out, and the defense should have fresh legs in the third period. Although untested, junior goalie Jay Amato has shown in practice what he can do.
"We will have great leadership with Alex and Eric," Siris said. "We have much more depth than last year, especially on defense. This is allowing more guys to step up. We will have more balanced scoring, and teams won’t be able to concentrate on stopping just one or two guys."
"We are confident Jay can pick up from Bryan (Driver) and Jake (Lurie). There is no doubt about our goaltending this year."
Other returning seniors are forwards Charlie Knights, Hank Whittman, Pete Comly and Chris Primer. Forward Ben Bershad, who was one of the team’s leading scorers as a sophomore but chose golf last year, has returned and should add punch to an already explosive offense.
Returning juniors are defender Tom Kawalec and forwards Brian DeAngelis and Travis Wolfe, and returning sophomores are forward Tom Rush (HoVal’s leading goal scorer last year with 28), defender Drew Scannella and goalie Jeff Radice, who is currently out with an injured hamstring suffered during football season.
Freshman defender Pat Haig should see quality minutes, and other first-year players have shown a lot of promise and could earn varsity spots.
The pieces are in place for the Bulldogs to join the state’s elite. Their coach once again has raised the bar, upgraded the schedule and laid out some lofty expectations.
"We want to make the state tournament," Siris said. "That’s always a goal. But we want to always go farther than the previous season. We can make a run at the division title.
"With our depth, we’ll be in good shape."
NOTE: Amato is playing junior hockey in Canada with the Cobourg Cougars.

